


dungeon curry break

by Nomette



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Character Study, Friendship, Gen, Humor, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 12:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13682055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomette/pseuds/Nomette
Summary: Joker calls a stop halfway across the glowing platforms, leaving the party suspended precariously above the endless abyss. Futaba’s dungeon has been a mess from top to bottom- sand, lava, boulder traps, spikes, shadows, and now this. They’ve been trying to get around this damn pit for almost half an hour, and everyone is tired. Yusuke is walking with a slight limp, Ann’s hair is frizzled and faintly smoking, and Makoto has a bruise blooming across one cheek. Ryuji sighs and peers gingerly over the edge of the platform into the darkness below, and flinches when Ann grabs him by the shoulder and hauls him away from the edge."Is there a reason we're stopping here, Joker?" Ann asks."Well, we're all a little tired," Joker replies. "Why don't we stop and take a break?"





	dungeon curry break

Yusuke’s gallery opening is in full swing when Ryuji arrives. The small space has been transformed by the addition of vines and flowers, courtesy of Haru, and through the open door Ryuji can see women in fancy dresses and men in suits waltzing past the paintings, champagne in hand. He feels a little silly standing there with his second-hand dress slacks and his hair still wet from the gym, but only a little. This is Yusuke’s gallery opening, after all, and anywhere Yusuke belongs, Ryuji does too.

Haru’s recognition saves him from having to argue with the doorman, and then he’s inside. It’s been nearly a decade since the Phantom Thieves changed the hearts of Japan, but Haru’s name still holds weight. Even after the dream ended, and momentos vanished, and the excitement of the summer gave way to fall and then to winter and new scandals, the Phantom Thieves retained a little of their old power. Their personas were sleeping, but something of the supernatural remained with them, a holdover from an old life.

“How’s the cafe doing?” Ryuji asks.  Haru’s unrestrained smile brings out her dimples. Ryuji loves her, just a little, just as he loves all the Phantom Thieves. Time has moved them into different orbits- Haru’s business, Makoto’s police force, Ann’s modeling, Ryuji’s coaching- but nothing can ever really separate them.

“Business is good,” Haru says brightly. “You should come back! Your workout program in the community room was a big hit last time.” She giggles. “I think some of my regulars have a different kind of personal training in mind, though.”

“For real? I’m not that kind of personal trainer,” Ryuji says. He enjoys his job- enjoys the hours enjoys the pay, the workplace culture, the hours. He likes working with kids to help them improve and see beyond their injuries, and he likes working with adults, to help them reach the dreams they thought were impossible.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the old ladies,” Haru says. “If they try to feel you up, I’ll punt them right out the door!”

“l’ll hold you to that,” Ryuji says gravely. In response, Haru hooks her arm through his, and the two of them advance through the gallery, admiring the paintings and people. Ryuji spots Makoto and Ann standing together and heads over, Haru at his side. The painting they’re standing in front of is a large one, the frame almost as wide as Ryuji is tall. He’s never seen it before. He stops short, the words dropping out of his mouth, and stands and stares, captured by an image he thought he’d never see again.

Ryuji remembers.

 

*

 

Joker calls a stop halfway across the glowing platforms, leaving the party suspended precariously above the endless abyss. Futaba’s dungeon has been a mess from top to bottom- sand, lava, boulder traps, spikes, shadows, and now this. They’ve been trying to get around this damn pit for almost half an hour, and everyone is tired. Yusuke is walking with a slight limp, Ann’s hair is frizzled and faintly smoking, and Makoto has a bruise blooming across one cheek. Ryuji sighs and peers gingerly over the edge of the platform into the darkness below, and flinches when Ann grabs him by the shoulder and hauls him away from the edge.

“Is there a reason we’re stopping here, Joker?” she asks.

“Well, we’re all running a little low on energy. Why don’t we take a rest?” Joker says. He reaches into his trenchcoat and pulls out a squashed bag of chips, then dangles it in front of them. “I brought sna-acks.”

“Man,” Ryuji sighs, and snatches the bag away. “I wouldn’t say no to some snacks, but can’t we eat them somewhere else? Anywhere else?” It’s hard to tell, but Joker looks amused under his mask.

“No shadows up here,” he says.

“There’s no walls, either,” Ann snaps. “I do appreciate the aesthetics of this location,” Yusuke says. “Think of the juxtaposition! The party of adventurers, surrounded by warmth and conviviality, suspended pendulously above the maddening abyss.”

“Maybe we'd better sit somewhere else,” Joker concedes and leads the party to one of the ledges overlooking the abyss. The ledge is high up, out of the reach of the shadows, at least, and if Ryuji ignores the fact that they’ve got their back to a cliff it could almost be peaceful. Makoto scuffs one leg sheepishly behind the other, then reaches into her backpack and pulls out a picnic blanket with a cute little mascot on it.

“I didn’t want us to sit on the ground,” she says defensively. “It could be dirty.”

“I just got punched in the face by a snake,” Ryuji says dubiously, and gestures to the blood on his jacket. “We’re dirtier than that blanket is.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a picnic,” Ann scolds, and helps Makoto spread the blanket out. The six of them settle onto the blanket, and Joker starts to pull out the promised snacks.

“Where do you keep all of this, Joker?” Yusuke asks as Joker retrieves a small dish of curry from inside his jacket. Joker shrugs.

“Same place I keep my personas, I guess,” he says.

“Hmmm,” Yusuke says dubiously. “Well… I suppose we’re not exactly following conventional rules with our attire. Your infinite supply of pockets is hardly the most improbable thing we’ve encountered.”

Yusuke talks like a nerd, or maybe like a book. He talks like he’s been living his whole life up on a shelf, with only other books for company, and Ryuji supposes that’s probably not far from the truth. Yusuke doesn’t talk about it, but it’s obvious from the way he behaves that Madarame almost never let him out of the house. It makes Ryuji mad. It makes Ryuji want to take Yusuke and go station by station through the whole city, until Yusuke’s seen every last bit of Tokyo.

“Ryuji, did you bring what I asked?” Joker asks.

“Oh, yeah! You gotta stay hydrated!” Ryuji retrieves his stash of drinks and distributes them among the group- Earl Green for Makoto and Yusuke, Udagawa Water for him and Joker, Arginade for Ann.

“I’m surprised you’re drinking something so healthy,” Makoto says, popping open her Earl Green.

“I did used to be the star of the track team, you know,” Ryuji says. “You gotta eat well if you wanna keep your stamina up! I sort of… got out of the habit after Kamoshida broke my leg, but I’m back at it now.” He hums and gulps down the rest of his water. An unhappy expression crosses Makoto’s face, and she starts to say something, but Ryuji interrupts her.

“You should stay hydrated too, Mako-chan. It’s easy to get heat stroke in this kind of weather.” Ryuji knows he’s courting a fist in the face by calling the almighty class representative Mako-chan, but he doesn’t want to hear more dumb apologies. Makoto acts like everything in the world is her job to fix, but Ryuji doesn’t see it that way. He’s still a little surprised that anyone would take interest in a punk like him.

Makoto looks startled, and then she smiles and ducks her head.

“I’ll keep it in mind, Ryuji,” she says, and reaches out to gently punch his shoulder.

Next to them, Yusuke and Ann are comparing drinks.

“Does that Arginade really have any effect?” Yusuke asks.

“You know, I kind of feel like it does,” Ann says. “It probably sounds weird, but I think it helps me with my spell-casting. I’m not sure why. You have to drink a lot, though.”

“Maybe the fact that people associate the drink with refreshment in real life carries over to the cognitive world,” Makoto theorizes. “The Leblanc curry has a similar effect. It must be because the customers enjoy it so much in real life.”

Ann’s stomach growls, and she covers it in embarrassment.

“Casting all those spells made me hungry!” she snaps.  

“I think we’re all pretty hungry,” Makoto says.

“So, what do you have for us today, Joker?” Ryuji asks. Joker grins, and starts to root round in his pockets. Everyone leans over in anticipation as Joker pulls out... a small pack of squid snacks. Ann’s face falls.

“Is that all?” she asks.

“I believe you said snacks, plural,” Yusuke points out. Joker roots in his other pocket, and pulls out an even smaller bag of chips. Makoto sighs. In the silence, the soft slide of sand and the distant hum of machines can be heard. Then Yusuke starts to laugh.

“I see,” he says. “Very impressive. Ann… look behind you.” Ann turns, reaches back, and grabs something, then plops it into the center of the picnic table. It’s a paper take-out bag. There’s one behind each of them.

“Holy shit, Joker, how did you get these?” Ryuji says, rooting through his. There’s a Moon Burger, some drizzled natto, protein, and some fruit snacks.  

“Sojiro lets me keep stuff in the cafe refrigerators, and it wasn’t too hard to order take-out before coming here, then add a few extra things to the bags.”

“How’d you get them behind us?” Makoto asks. Ryuji would ask the same question, but his mouth is full of fries. Joker’s response is to grin and spread his arms like a magician presenting a trick.  

“A Phantom Thief never reveals his secrets,” he says.

“Joker!” Makoto says, but she’s not really mad. Joker pulls out his own bag of take-out, and the walls of the palace echo with the sounds of lunch as everyone digs in. It’s been a long time since Ryuji’s been hungry like this, his whole body aching with the strain of physical effort, his muscles verging on sore. He loves it.

He finishes his burger in no time, then starts in on the curry leftovers Joker brought along. The curry is spicy and savory and sweet, the flavor of apple melding perfectly with the spice blend. A snap of Ann’s fingers heats it up, and the smell makes all of them lean over, even Mona, who can’t eat curry.

“This is so good,” Ryuji says, stuffing food into his mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Ann scolds.

“Lady Ann, it’s hopeless. Don’t bother,” Mona says. Ryuji makes a rude gesture in Mona’s direction and keeps eating. He’s getting full, but every bite is just as good as the last. Ryuji doesn’t get to eat home cooking very often. His mother is usually tired after work, and he doesn’t like making trouble for her, so he’s gotten used to making his own stuff or eating out.  Most of his meals are simple- fried eggs, rice, pasta. Simple meals, eaten alone at the dining table while his mom works late trying to make a life for the two of them.

“Leave some for the rest of us,” Ann demands, and snatches the tray from him, then starts to shovel it into her mouth. Mona doesn’t criticize her, the little shit.

“You have some curry on your face,” Yusuke says, and swipes his thumb along the side of Ryuji’s mouth. Ryuji kind of freezes. It takes him a little while to remember how to talk, and when he does, the only thing he can say is a stuttered thanks. It’s new, this thing with Yusuke. He’s never really dated anyone before. He probably would never have had the courage to say anything, but Yusuke, the maniac, just asked him out. Ryuji’s boyfriend- and it feels weird just thinking that word- is kind of bad at interacting with people.

“Did I do something wrong?” Yusuke asks, peering at Ryuji. “Your face is all red. It makes an interesting contrast to the clothes you’re wearing.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ann says, the traitor. “I think it’s kind of cute.”

“Thanks,” Ryuji mutters mutinously. “I-I’m going to go stretch.”

The ledge they’re on is shaped like a capital L, with a small section around the corner, blocked off on three side from shadows and from teammates. Ryuji retreats to this section and starts to stretch, working from memory through the sequence from memory. Legs first, starting with his hamstrings, then going down to his calves and ankles, then back up to his shoulders, wrists and neck, his muscles slowly uncoiling as he stretches. Fighting is hard work. After a little while, Makoto joins him, and they work through the stretches in silence. He wouldn’t have expected her to be familiar with the exercises, but, right- she knows akido. One of her shoulders is kind of stiff.

“I think Joker brought a cold compress,” Ryuji offers.

Makoto considers him. Her code name suits her. There’s something about her gaze on him that makes him feel like he should bow, and the feeling makes him angry. They all have their flaws, and Makoto’s is that she has the same will to rule that Kamoshida did, the same impulse towards authority. Then she smiles.

“You’re really good at this. Earlier, I tried to apologize, but you cut me off.  I know- I know that a lot of people don’t trust me, and maybe I deserve that. I should have looked into the track team being dissolved, but I was busy. I trusted blindly in the teachers, when I should have had more faith in my fellow students.”

“Uh, it’s fine,” Ryuji says. “I mean. Really. They’re going to bring back a new teacher, so the team will be back up and running again soon and… it’s not your job to fix everything, you know.”

“It is,” Makoto says fiercely. “I didn’t become the student council president just to put it on my college applications. I’m going to help people.”

Ryuji studies her. He’s never liked people who take it on themselves to be an authority, because they never like him. But Makoto’s not the same kind of ruler Kamoshida was, not at all.

“Yeah,” he says. “I think you will.”

“Thanks,” she says, and funnily enough, it sounds like she actually means it. “I’ll start with you. Come over here so I can use some healing magic.”

“W-what,” Ryuji says, and then Makoto’s right up against him, her hand glowing with fancy magic. It feels weird, and then it hurts, his skin tingling in a full-body case of pins and needles, and then it feels great.

“Hey!” he says. “Next time, warn a guy!”

“You’re welcome,” Makoto says, smiling. Ryuji punches her lightly in the shoulder, and Makoto looks uncertain for a moment, and then she punches him back. Luckily, she took off the brass knuckles while she was eating.

“Careful with those!” Ryuji says.

“What are you two doing?” Yusuke asks, and both of them jump a little. All of them are different in the cognitive world in small ways- Ann’s skin runs warmer, Makoto’s vision sees further- and Yusuke’s gift is that his steps move in utter silence.

“Uh, stretching,” Ryuji says.

“Interesting,” Yusuke says. “Can you show me? I’m not familiar with this type of exercise. The ancient Romans had a saying: ‘a sound mind in a healthy body.’ I wonder if this experience will help me with my art.”

Ryuji can’t help but smile. It’s just so Yusuke. From anyone else, he’d be annoyed at hearing this kind of pretentious bullshit, but Yusuke isn’t saying to make Ryuji feel dumb. He’s just saying what’s on his mind.

“I don’t know much about art, but it’ll help you avoid shin splints.”

“Shin splints? What are those?” Yusuke asks. His voice sounds cautious and intrigued.

“I’ll, uh, explain later. Let’s start with some simple exercises.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Makoto says, and winks, then walks away. Ryuji swallows down the urge to yell at her. Everyone needs to quit making things weird. It’s much easier when it’s just him and Yusuke. Part of him wishes he’d never said anything to anyone about it, but that would be hiding, and Ryuji’s done with keeping his head done and swallowing his resentment. This is who he is, even if it’s embarrassing and new.

“Ryuji…?” Yusuke says, and Ryuji snaps back to reality.

“Right,” he says hastily. “We’ll start with your quads, then move to the hamstrings and ankles. Here. Put your left hand on your left ankle, then lift it like this, maintaining your balance…”

It’s kind of weird, working through the exercises with Yusuke. Ryuji’s never been so aware of Yusuke’s body, of the long, fine lines of his legs, his slim waist, the way his clothing hugs his body. He’s taken off his gloves and boots to increase his mobility, revealing his pale, bony ankles. It feels intimate. Ryuji’s face is starting to turn pink again.

“I feel that this exercise has given me a better appreciation for anatomy,” Yusuke says thoughtfully. “Also, for your shoulders.”

“Uh,” Ryuji cleverly replies.

“You’ve been acting strange around me,” Yusuke says. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” Ryuji says. It comes out louder than he intended. “I, uh. No.” His voice comes out quiet on the next sentence. “I just don’t want to screw everything up,” he says quietly. “I’ve never had a- a boyfriend before.”

“Neither have I,” Yusuke says. He steps forward, his body right up in Ryuji’s space. Part of him wants to take it as a challenge, and part of him wants to run. He does neither.  Instead, he lets Yusuke stick his hand under his scarf, his hand cool against Ryuji’s overheated skin.

“You haven’t made a mistake,” Yusuke says. “I’m happy to be around you.”

Yusuke is very close. His eyes are very grey, and his gaze is very direct.

“Me too,” Ryuji says. He thinks, for a moment, that Yusuke is on the verge of  kissing him, and then he notices the shadow around the corner. Someone is spying on them. Yusuke turns, following his gaze, and lifts his hand, frost forming at his fingertips.

“I’m going to punt that shitty cat into outer space,” Ryuji says, snatching up his bat, and the shadows scatter. Yusuke catches him by the collar as he walks by and hauls him back, and Ryuji, startled, lets him.

“Who cares if other people see?” Yusuke says scornfully, and presses his lips against Ryuji’s, and Ryuji’s rage sputters and blows out like a candle. Who cares about anything, anything at all, when Yusuke is kissing him. Yusuke’s mouth is warm and tastes faintly of curry, his lips soft and yielding as they slide against Ryuji. His waist fits perfectly in the circle of Ryuji’s arms.

Ryuji knows he’s smiling like an idiot when they break apart, but he can’t stop.  He’d kiss Yusuke in front of the whole school, and damn the rumors. Everyone already thinks he’s a punk, a good-for-nothing, a screw-up, and so what? Ryuji doesn’t feel like any of those things. Not with Yusuke in his arms.

“Better,” Yusuke says, studying his face. “You have a very open face, Ryuji. Your smile looks good on you.”

“T-thanks,” Ryuji mumbles, and kisses Yusuke before embarrassment can get the better of him again. This kiss is long and lingering, made up of a series of soft, delicate movements. Yusuke has one arm slung lazily over Ryuji’s shoulder, the tall bastard.

“Now, I believe you were going to show me some stretches,” Yusuke says.

“Oh- yeah!” Ryuji says cheerfully. Most of his thoughts turned off around the time when Yusuke kissed him, but fortunately he’s done the track warm-up so many times he could do it in his sleep. He gets started on showing Yusuke how to stretch his hamstrings. They’re mostly done with the routine when someone clears their throat and comes around the corner. It’s Ann.

“So, uh, not to interrupt your… stretching, but Joker wants to get going,” Ann says.

“We’re almost done,” Yusuke says. “Would you like to join us?” Ann’s face goes kind of pink.

“No! I’m okay!” she says, and flees.

“We should probably get going,” Yusuke says. Ryuji can’t tell if he’s just that composed, or if he hasn’t picked up on what Ann meant by “stretching”. Either way, he’s a little jealous of his boyfriend's calm.

“Yeah,” Ryuji says reluctantly. “Wish we had more time like this though, you know? Alone together.”

“We'll have time later,” Yusuke points out, and they go- through the dungeon, over the traps, across the path of light up to fight the sphinx- always together, always running side by side.

 

*

 

The feeling of someone leaning their head on his shoulder jolts Ryuji back to reality, and he looks over to see Ann standing next to him.

“It really was like that,” she says, and it’s a little sad, a little wistful. Yusuke’s drawing is the sum of all Ryuji’s memories; he’s drawn the golden streams of sand plunging down into the abyss, and the delicate platforms of light, the monsters, the treasure, and, most precious of all, the Phantom Thieves as they were, young and dumb and desperate. He's drawn Ann in her red catsuit, still growing nervously into her beauty, and Joker, mysterious in his black coat, and Makoto, still learning to hold the weight of the world on her shoulders, and the two of them, Fox and Skull, side by side, Fox resting his head on Skull’s shoulder.

It never happened like this. There’s no room in the palace that was this splendid, no time when they ate on the golden platform suspended above the abyss.

It happened exactly like this; they laughed and cried and did their best, and every step they took they were suspended over a perilous abyss of ruin. Ryuji doesn’t know much about art symbolism, but he knows the truth when he sees it.

“Yeah,” he says, and his voice comes out a little hoarse. “It was.”

A murmur in the crowd draws their attention, and Ryuji turns to see his husband- Yusuke Kitagawa himself!- making his way delicately through the crowd. All of Haru’s gardens and Ryuji’s cooking and the best efforts of time have managed to add some weight to him, but not much. He comes to a stop in front of the painting, and the Phantom Thieves steps aside to draw him into the circle, shielding him from the crowd of onlookers with their bodies. Ryuji slips an arm around his husband’s waist, and Yusuke leans his head against Ryuji’s shoulder.

“You never showed us this one,” Joker says. Even now, he still has the ability to appear without warning.

“It is our ten-year anniversary, is it not? I wanted to surprise all of you.” The six of them stand, gazing at the children they once were.

“We made it,” Ann says.

“We did,” Haru agrees softly.

“It’s beautiful,” Makoto adds. “I think they’d be proud of us.”

“I’m proud of us,” Joker says.

“Yeah!” Ryuji says, startled by his own vehemence. “This is the life we chose!”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!


End file.
